Walt Hamburger - …and Louie!

Frequent readers of the Vinyl Word know that I try to review records on a regular basis that are local or Wisconsin based.

I do this because it is natural and very easy for people living in the area where a musician is from to take their work or accomplishments for granted because they are local.

I root for the underdog, and musicians from Northeast Wisconsin are, at times, definitely at a disadvantage in regards to getting out their musical message not only to people in this area, but to a national or international audience.

We all have said, “Well, so and so is from Chilton, Algoma, Appleton or De Pere so I’ll catch them next time.”

Sometimes you take a local artist for granted and you don’t keep up on their most recent recordings.

I have been guilty of that and have been wrong about a local artist more than a few times in the 40+ years I have been immersed in the Green Bay music scene.

So as I enter the confessional booth, I must tell you about my experience with the new Walt Hamburger album.

I was having a crummy day — I had just received the bad news that a dear friend and Wisconsin musical legend Steve Whalen had lost his battle to cancer.

I was a total fanboy and mark for Steve Whalen ever since his band at the time, Cherry Cake, opened for die kreuzen at the long gone ABC Boxing Club in November of 1986.

Cherry Cake was like a combo of The Stooges and REM playing with a bunch of hardcore bands that night.

Was Cherry Cake the eye of a hurricane that night in a storm of hardcore? No. Cherry Cake was the storm and Steve Whalen as their frontperson was a big part of their hurricane of pure rock’n’roll.

So I slap on the new Walt album — an artist that I have obviously taken for granted because I did not expect to be floored like I was playing this record.

Walt has a full electric band on this album and no reason to yell Judas at him.

Why am I blown away? Well, one of the reasons is because I forgot a few things about Walt, such as he writes great songs, sings great and is pretty swell on guitar.

Walt is a super nice guy and when I think of him, the thing that deservingly comes up first is that he is a great, empathic person who does a lot of charity work and is a big lover, friend and ally to Dogs and Cats.

I should also think that Walt can put out power pop punk so good that it would fit on an album by ALL.

Another song on this is a merger of the sounds of two Wisconsin legends, Rebel Waltz and the Obsoletes (coincidently Justin Perkins of The Obsoletes mastered this album).

Walt is big in Canada (which these days has replaced being big in Japan) and one song reminds me of Canadian legends The Doughboys.

Don’t worry, it’s not all toe-tapping pop punk because Walt has a tender side with “Do Crimes,” which reminds of peak James Taylor.

Count me as a big fan of Walt’s latest album because not only did the power of its music help console my heartbrokenness, but it helped me realize how important it is to appreciate and treasure those making music in our own backyards.

Walt, please keep on trucking, and rest in power Steve Whalen.